Daily HD Viewing Approaches 50 Percent

November 5, 2009

A new Knowledge Networks survey of the same 510 people (ages 13 to 54) canvassed during a 24-month period starting in 2007 reveals that about 43 percent say they now watch HD programs or content on a daily basis, as compared to 26 percent in late 2007.

While that’s a noticeable jump, it also indicates that despite sharp price point declines during the past year in HD products, and some heavy marketing, the economy likely has taken its toll on the consumer, as still less than half of all American viewers are not watching HD on a daily basis. (It’s not known if the survey took into account those with HD sets who thought they were watching HD, but were really looking at SD.)

There’s another finding in the Knowledge Networks’ survey that appears intuitive, considering that sports has long been considered a major incentive to buy HD products--males are more likely to watch HD content than females. But it’s not only sports. The study found about half of all males (48 percent) were likely to check HD channels first when turning on the TV--compared with only one in five females (19 percent).

Also, about two-thirds of all respondents said that they "always make the effort" to watch a show in HD when it’s available in both SD and HD simultaneously (as nearly all broadcast network prime shows are). This, in turn, also means a third of all HD/SD viewers don’t make the effort.

And the study indicated that more than a third of the male viewers will pay attention to commercials aired in HD, compared to about one-quarter of the females polled.